E3 2010,Nintendo,Nintendo DS 18 June 2010

What do you get when Mario opens up a theme park and gives away 100 Pauline dolls, and Donkey Kong doesn’t get one? One angry ape, ready to make Mario and the Minis come to save the day. With more puzzles than ever before, Mini-Land Mayhem also brings a new feature to the game: user-based content. While using the stylus in the main game to place warp pipes, springs, and blocks to get through each level, players can also create their own levels and share them with friends. These can be shared over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, and people can vote for their favorites. Another nice addition is a help button, a new map mode, and an in-game Super Guide, so people that are new to puzzle games can join in the fun without frustration. The Minis, Mario, and DK will be back this holiday season.

 Night/Morning Thoughts,Nintendo,Nintendo DS,Nintendo Wii,delay 16 June 2010

Last E3 brought us Scribblenauts, the game where we all thought anything was possible. If you could think it up, you could see it come to life on the DS screen. This year, Super Scribblenauts expands upon the idea of everything. Take all the things you came up with to solve the puzzles in the first game, but add an adjective to it now. Robot? Try super flying lime green robot. With OVER NINE THOUSAND adjectives, it adds a whole new level to the game. Not only that, but they say that they fixed the control issues that made the first one almost unplayable. They might have me excited to see Maxwell again. We’ll see when it arrives this fall.

 E3 2010,Nintendo,Nintendo 3DS,Nintendo DS 16 June 2010

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future will be the third installment in the series of puzzle games by Level 5. While the first one was charming for its logic puzzles and cute little story, the second Layton game (The Diabolical Box), felt as if I was playing the same game again. This isn’t like how crazy people complain about the Zelda series and how you go through so many dungeons/kill bosses etc., Layton’s logic puzzles were the exact same puzzles, only with a different coat of paint. With 167 new brain teasers in Unwound Future, hopefully we will see some new tricks when Layton looks at Luke with the sparkle in his eye and exclaims “That just reminded me of a puzzle!”

If one Layton game was not enough for you, Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle was also announced as a working title for the 3DS. This might actually bring a spark to the series with the 3D allowing for some new and interesting ways for puzzles to be created.

 E3 2010,Game Trailers,Nintendo,Nintendo DS,Pokemon 16 June 2010

Guardian Signs is the third installment of the Pokemon Ranger series, once again allowing players to protect Pokemon and the environment from the dangers of “Pokenappers”. This time we visit the Oblivia region where Pokemon Pinchers have been causing a disturbance. What makes this game incredible from the beginning is your partner: Ukulele Pichu. How could anyone be unhappy walking around with a Pichu carrying around a Ukulele on his back, ready for action?

By befriending Pokemon, you gain their abilities to help out in sticky situations. To get them to help out, the player must draw their “Ranger Sign” with the stylus. This way, even the legendary Entei, Raikou and Suicune will come to your aid. The ranger also captures Pokemon by drawing circles around it with a Capture Stylus, which also continually gains new abilities. There is also multiplayer capability, so you can do missions with your friends. Guardian Signs should be out this fall!

 Features,Game Trailers,Nintendo DS,Nintendo Wii,PC,PS3,Release Dates,Upcoming Games,Xbox 360 3 June 2010

Not too many heavy hitters are coming out in June, but that doesn’t mean there will be a lack of quality games. After the break you’ll find the games you should be on the lookout for the second half of this month. There are a couple that aren’t getting enough publicity, but people should be paying more attention. You’ll see them first thing after the jump.

Keep Reading

 Nintendo DS,Nintendo Wii,PC,PS3,PSP,Release Dates,Upcoming Games,Xbox 360 2 June 2010

Not too many heavy hitters are coming out in June, but that doesn’t mean there will be a lack of quality games. After the break you’ll find the games you should be on the lookout for the first couple weeks of this month. To be honest, there really ISN’T much, but there is at least one or two to get excited about.

Mega Man or Green Day, anyone?

Keep Reading

 Nintendo,Nintendo DS,Pokemon 28 May 2010

When picking my version of Pokemon, the legend on the front is the main factor. Usually there is one that I like much better than the other (Dialga over Palkia, Lugia over Ho-oh), but this one is tough. Pokemon Black’s legend Zekrom looks incredibly badass, while White’s Reshiram has the same sort of elegance that Lugia possesses. Thank god I have until Spring 2010 to make up my mind!

 Game Announcements,Nintendo DS 27 May 2010

I, for one, am an absolute HUGE fan of the Fire Emblem franchise. Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones is easily one of my favorite games of all times, with the first Fire Emblem on Game Boy Advance not far behind it.

However, I considered the first DS iteration of the series, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, to be incredibly mediocre with an ugly art style. For those who don’t know, Shadow Dragon is actually a remake of the original Fire Emblem, and this new entry is a remake of Fire Emblem 3. Fire Emblem 3 is actually a remake of the original with a second story, and this remake of 3 just focuses on the second story.

Did you get that? Me either, but I hope it made sense.

Luckily, it’s rumored there will be quite a bit of new content, because it picked up a second subtitle. All I can hope is that they ditch the gross art style for something more along the lines of the GBA versions.

 DLC,Nintendo DS,Nintendo Wii,WiiWare/DSiWare 24 May 2010

Here are the Nintendo downloads for the week!

Nintendo Wii/DS

Virtual Console
-Nothing

WiiWare
- ArtStyle: light trax (600 Wii points)
- Manic Monkey Mayhem! (800 Wii points)
- Viral Survival (500 Wii points)

DsiWare
- Advanced Circuits (200 points)
- Metal Torrent (500 points)
- Real Crimes: Jack the Ripper (800 points)
- World Poker Tour Texas Hold ‘Em (500 points)

 Nintendo,Nintendo DS,Release Dates 20 May 2010

Exactly one year after its release in Japan, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies will finally be making it’s way to North America. Due out on July 11th (and July 23rd in Europe), Square Enix’s widely popular game will see how it does in Western markets. Each addition to the series sells about 4-5 million copies in Japan, and IX was rumored to have shipped 2.3 million copies within the first two days. While it may not get the same attention here as it does in Japan, it should be a great summer title nonetheless.